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While freedom of speech is protected in the United States, it is not an absolute right, and defamation laws are an example of a legal restriction on speech that
by vertis 3y ago
While freedom of speech is protected in the United States, it is not an absolute right, and defamation laws are an example of a legal restriction on speech that is permissible under the First Amendment. Defamation laws are common amongst most democracies that enjoy some level of free speech.
- sclarisse 3y agoThis is an action that applies to Google, not the defamer, using Quebec law, where American law would not find liability. This fine included liability for posts that were visible in America, invisible in Quebec. The fact libel law exists in America generally is true but minimally informative and not really germane.
- vertis 3y agoThe Quebec court disagrees. Google is defaming the plaintif, and doing so in a global manner. Both in their ranking that information as important and additionally in refusing to remove that information when requested. I'm really glad that American companies can't just operate with impunity in other countries. Google and other US multinationals SHOULD be bound by the superset of laws for all of the countries they operate in. If they can't accept those laws, for example in the case of authoritarian states, then they shouldn't be operating in those markets at all.
- sclarisse 3y agoAnd indeed as I have said: A reason this is a big problem is that we have like 1.5 competitors out there (for search: Google, Bing) and they’re all trying to sell ads into all the jurisdictions ever. As a result all of us who have nothing else to use find we are practically limited by the set-intersection of all the extraterritorially enforced liberties in the world. Our set of liberties is getting smaller. I will be upset at that even if today it’s a marginally better reason than most.